City guide · Pennsylvania

Scranton Trash Pickup Schedule

This Scranton trash pickup schedule covers a city where garbage collection day depends on which of five neighborhood zones your address falls into, and where recycling just went through its biggest change in years. As of July 7, 2025, recycling moved from weekly to biweekly under a new five-year contract with Waste Management, following a 2024 county resident survey.

Here's how to find your zone's collection day, what actually happens when a holiday lands mid-week, and why Scranton's refuse fee shows up on your property tax bill instead of a utility statement. We'll also cover the apartment cutoff written directly into city code and where to call about anything the official pages don't confirm.

Because Scranton's fee rides on the property tax bill rather than a utility statement, it's easy to overlook as a distinct charge until you actually read the tax coupon. That structure, combined with the zone-based garbage days, makes Scranton's system meaningfully different from cities where trash service is billed and scheduled the same way for everyone.

How often is trash picked up in Scranton?

Scranton's garbage collection schedule runs weekly, but the specific day is fixed by neighborhood zone rather than being the same citywide. Recycling now runs on a separate biweekly cycle, alternating between commingled cardboard and paper one week, and commingled plastics, glass, and metal the next.

The biweekly recycling split - cardboard/paper on one cycle, plastics/glass/metal (now including #5 plastics) on the next - took effect July 7, 2025, so double-check which cycle applies before you set your bin out.

The July 2025 switch to biweekly recycling was driven by a county-wide resident survey the year before, rather than a decision made without input. Knowing which of the two alternating cycles applies to a given week is the single most useful habit to build under the new system.

Find your exact pickup day

Every Scranton collection day is tied to a fixed weekly zone instead of an individual address lookup. Find your street in the list below, or check the zone-based Pickup Schedule PDF at scrantonpa.gov for the full map.

• Monday - Upper West Scranton, Tripps Park, and part of South Scranton/Minooka (north of Davis St)
• Tuesday - North Scranton and the rest of South Scranton/Minooka (south of Davis St)
• Wednesday - Green Ridge, South Scranton, and parts of Keyser Valley
• Thursday - Hill Section and East Mountain
• Friday - Lower West Scranton and remaining parts of Upper West Scranton and East Mountain

Some routes collect garbage from alleys rather than the street, but recycling is always picked up curbside at the front or side of the property regardless of your garbage route.

Because collection is organized by zone rather than an individual address lookup tool, two houses on nearby streets can fall into different zones depending on exactly where the boundary lines run. When in doubt, the printed Pickup Schedule PDF is more reliable than assuming your day matches a neighbor's just because you're close by.

Bin placement rules

Placement habits in Scranton have to account for two different systems running at once: a weekly garbage day fixed by zone, and a biweekly recycling cycle that alternates material types. Mixing up either the day or the cycle is the most common way residents end up with a missed pickup.

• Set out garbage on your fixed zone day, whether your route collects from the street or an alley
• Keep recycling curbside at the front or side of the property even if garbage collects from an alley
• Sort recycling by the correct cycle - cardboard/paper one week, plastics/glass/metal the next
• Hold seasonal yard waste for the citywide brush, leaf, or Christmas tree collection windows rather than setting it out anytime

Scranton Trash Holiday Schedule

Scranton's holiday mechanic is clearly spelled out: if a holiday falls on a weekday, all collections for both refuse and recycling are delayed by one day for the rest of that week. The city observes 11 holidays, and two of them - Juneteenth and Easter Monday - are less common inclusions than what most nearby cities observe.

Because the shift rule is confirmed in writing, this table is a reliable guide - but always confirm your zone's exact adjusted day since the delay compounds across the rest of that week.

Because the one-day shift rule is confirmed in writing rather than communicated informally, it's one of the more dependable holiday policies covered on this site. Residents still need to track which zone day is affected, since the shift cascades through the rest of that week rather than just the holiday itself.

What goes in each bin

Scranton's curbside program covers two containers - garbage and recycling - with yard waste running on separate seasonal windows rather than a standing third cart. The biweekly recycling cycle is the detail most likely to trip up residents used to a simpler weekly routine.

How much does trash service cost in Scranton?

Scranton's refuse fee is genuinely unusual: it's billed as a flat $300 per year per Equivalent Dwelling Unit directly on the property tax bill, not through a water utility or a separate city invoice. It's paid quarterly along with tax coupons, and city and school district real estate taxes can't be paid without also paying the refuse fee.

A 10% early-payment discount is available if the full amount is paid by April 15, or two months after the tax notice date, whichever is later. This isn't a pay-per-bag system - the flat EDU-based rate applies regardless of how much you actually set out each week.

Tying the refuse fee to property taxes rather than a utility bill means renters typically don't see this charge directly, since it's the property owner's responsibility. For owners, missing the April 15 discount deadline simply means paying the full $300 rather than facing a separate late fee beyond that.

Bulky waste pickup

Bulky item pickup in Scranton isn't clearly confirmed from an official city source. Different third-party accounts describe either free weekly pickup or a monthly service with a $22 fee, and those two claims conflict with each other.

Rather than publish either figure as fact, call the Department of Public Works directly at 570-348-4180 to ask what applies to your address. Seasonal yard waste is handled separately through citywide windows: Christmas tree collection through January, brush collection for several weeks in spring, and leaf collection for several weeks in fall.

Conflicting claims about cost and frequency are exactly the kind of detail worth confirming before you plan around them, since acting on the wrong one could mean an unexpected fee or a pickup that never comes. A quick call to the Department of Public Works settles the question for your specific situation.

Apartments & multifamily buildings

City code draws a specific line for multifamily buildings: a residential enterprise of six or more Equivalent Dwelling Units in one building or residential cluster must provide its own refuse removal through a private licensed hauler. City collection is limited to smaller residential properties below that threshold.

The six-unit threshold in Scranton's code mirrors the kind of cutoff several nearby Pennsylvania cities use to separate city-collected residential service from private commercial-style hauling. Property managers near that line should confirm their classification directly with the Department of Public Works rather than assuming based on unit count alone.

Reporting illegal dumping

Illegal dumping and missed pickups go through the Department of Public Works dispatcher at 570-348-4180, with recycling-specific questions directed to recycle@scrantonpa.gov. No digital reporting tool or 311-style app was found for Scranton, so phone remains the primary way to reach the department.

Without a digital reporting tool, keeping the Department of Public Works number saved is more important in Scranton than in cities with an app-based alternative. Calling promptly after a missed pickup, rather than waiting for the next scheduled day, gives the department the best chance of routing a truck back to your street.

Frequently asked questions

More Pennsylvania guides

City contact & resources

Bookmark this Scranton trash pickup schedule and keep an eye on scrantonpa.gov/recycling, since the biweekly recycling cycle is still new enough that residents are adjusting to it. Between the zone-based garbage days and the property-tax-bundled fee, Scranton's system works differently from most cities nearby.

Need more than curbside pickup? Compare local bulk & junk removal quotes. Browse all Pennsylvania cities or the full state directory.